We have articles specifically discussing Milwaukee Recreation programs we've used, but this article is just going to compare some of the prices for local rec departments and private dance lessons that we can find. While it's specific to the Milwaukee area, you would likely have the opportunity to use park and rec-type programs in your community. Of course, these programs can be hit or miss, while we will assume there to be a higher standard for the private lessons.

 

DANCE:

Milwaukee offers Tap for 8 sessions for an hour each session. It costs $18 for us ($36 for non-residents). Jazzy tap was the same price. Ballet, too. That's $2.25 an hour.

Wauwatosa offers Tap, Ballet, and Jazz for 24 weeks for 45 minutes. It costs $77 for non-residents ($51 for residents). That's 18 hours of instruction for $77, or $4.27 an hour for us.

Gayle's Dance Studio offers Tap, Ballet, and Tumbling for six one-hour sessions. It costs $72, so that comes to $12 an hour.

Donna Jeanne, who has taught Helena for a few rec classes, does not list her dance studio prices, though I assume they are higher than Milwaukee Recreation pricing.

Lisa attended Kellar Dance Studio. They list their prices for differing class lengths, but for comparison, the 8-session one-hour lesson course costs $74.That's $9.25 an hour. There's yearly $5 registration fee, as well.

Danceworks is a non-profit that seems pretty capable of generating revenue. They have a slick-looking website that dances around actual cost and is confusing to me (and I design websites). Something cost $200 for a semester and something else cost $98 for seven one-hour lessons. If that's a standard rate, then they charge $14 an hour. I could be wrong on this one because I spent too much time trying to figure the site out, and its menu didn't even work in Firefox, so it's fail. I talked to James's teacher and she said she didn't really know the prices, but she thought maybe ten sessions for around $100 sounded right to her, which would make it about $10 an hour.

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The YMCA is not an option for us because we do not have a money tree in the backyard. They charge $69 a month for a family membership. It really doesn't matter how much dance or swim cost because we can't afford $828 a year to be members. I play baseball and Lisa uses the $10 a month gym.

As a final thought, if you run a dance studio and want people to find you and think you're professional, you might want to consider having me build a website for you because the ones I saw could use a lot of work. The point of having a website is to promote yourself and provide information for parents like me. Cost, class sizes, requirements, etc. See Passive Ninja Web Design if you want some help.